Winter Loon Rescue

Winter Loon Rescue

For anyone curious about where the picture of my Gravatar came from, I’m reposting this event from New Year’s Day, 2014.

If you’re a loon, landing on a frozen lake is the last mistake you’ll likely ever make. To escape what, at this point, can only be considered certain doom, you must get to open water. And, because loons are relatively heavy, short of wing, and highly adapted for swimming and diving, they’re largely unequipped for walking or taking off from a solid surface. Unlike a duck, loons need speed, a headwind, and a long watery runway to get airborne. Such was the dire predicament of a wayward loon on this frigid New Year’s morning. And the poor fellow had about as much chance for flight as an airplane parked in your driveway.

Round Lake sits between Petoskey and Harbor Springs, just a stone’s throw from the open water of Little Traverse Bay, likely the last departure point for the loon. Had this been an uninhabited lake, the only uncertainty…